Russia on Tuesday claimed that "censorship and manipulation" of the media in Germany was in "full bloom."
Pointing to a German government report on the state of independent media in the country, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram that Berlin had transferred at least €1.5 million ($1.6 million) to outlets in recent years.
"The 'independent, separate-from-the-state-budget' media received more than 1.5 million euros in cash and bank transfers," Zakharova said, pointing to Berlin's 2022 decision to remove Russian state news agency RT from its broadcasting network and statements from German officials saying they had no influence on information processes.
According to the 30-page report requested by lawmakers asking the government about the state of German independent media, 200 journalists were involved in the services for which the payments were made, including moderation, lecturing, and media training.
Zakharova also suggested that the information in the report was incomplete. "This is not all the state money and not all the journalists that Berlin contracts for its information and propaganda activities. This is explicitly stated in the government's response."
"That is, the German security forces pay journalists for no reason at all, no matter how, no one knows how much, and no one should know and will not know about this, because we are talking about 'state security considerations'," Zakharova further claimed, adding: "Censorship and manipulation of the media in Germany is in full bloom."
Germany's media regulator banned Russia's German-language TV channel RT Deutsch in January 2022, claiming that it lacked a valid license to operate in the country.
